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From my perspective, agencies have only one meaningful thing that sets them apart.

Their standards.

By that I mean the ambitions they have for every project and the way they go about realising it.

Of course sometimes it doesn’t work out as everyone hoped, but I am still firmly of the opinion that if you are doing it for the right reasons and have approached it with the care and commitment it deserves, that is still more beneficial than dropping your price and chucking any old rubbish out.

Of course some agencies – and clients – prefer the quick and easy approach.

That’s fine.

But they will never have the influence high standards affords you.

Where you attract rather than continually chase.

Where you can influence culture rather than just continuously mirror it.

Where you can pioneer rather than be an almost ran.

Where you have the most interesting people in your building rather than the ‘good enough’.

Where you can charge more for your work than what the procurement department say you can charge.

The reason I say this is because I recently read an interesting article about the difference between Apple and other mainstream technology brands.

Yes, I know it’s been written about a million times, but this article captured something that I think lays the difference between the 2 brands bare.

It is not saying everyone else is a bad company.

It is not saying they are makers of bad products.

It’s simply saying that there is an emotional value, whether overtly realised or not, of handling a product that you feel – or know – has been sweated over.

Where little things you may never notice have been given the same love and attention as the big, obvious stuff.

Whether you agree that Apple have it and other brands don’t isn’t the point I am trying to convey.

What I’m trying – badly – to say is that a lot of people think ‘craft’ is justification for being a creative prima-dona.

Sometimes – in the hands of those who want to live up to an image rather than live up to a standard – it can.

Normally I’d give you shit for having another holiday, but after all you’ve gone through this year I can admit you deserve it and likely need it. That doesn’t mean I’ll forgive you for the investment in content comment though. See you tuesday Rob.

Obviously I won’t comment on the Apple editorial you have written, but the part where you write about doing things to the highest standard for the pride you have in your own standards if nothing else is excellent. Everyone is in a rush to get ahead without understanding how important it is to feel you have truly earned it.

maybe you should. you make more fucking moolah doing the shit you do than any one doing a real job will ever see in a fucking hundred lifetimes. and you have mouths to feed now. and fucking wifi cups to buy. which i will never fucking forgive you for you sad, pathetic bastard. the cup. not the family.

Lee, I agree. Excellence shows; like a really good coat, or a pair of Italian shoes, the product and the promo are totally connected. The company can promote itself eventually merely on the name alone: Coach, Chanel, Mercedes, Apple, Dior.

Im not in advertising, but I am involved with gaming (play, not write) and I see a LOT of crap out there that is buggy, poorly put together, and sold as the next Worlds of Warcraft…they spend all their energy on the cover, and the promo, and let the rest go to hell. This too is about advertising, and not bothering to make a product that lives up to the promise. 99% of it has hidden costs for the player, limited play for the free players, and most of the necessary features are worthless or buggy.

Ive only found one (two if you count the old WoW) thus far that not only lives up to its own promotion, it goes beyond that into truly caring about what happens to the players, and if you’re good at it, you never have to spend a cent to get where you need to go. I.e., if you have a problem due to a bug in the program, they offer to reimburse you for the game money you lost, no hesitation.

and the best advertising in the world is worthless if there’s no product that lives up to it. Yeah, yeah, I know. obvious. Sit down, lady. =)